The 1873 headquarters of the New York and Long Island Coignet Stone Company was the earliest known concrete building in New York City. Once regarded as one of the most elegant structures in Brooklyn, the building was virtually forgotten during the 20th century. In 2006, it was designated a New York City landmark. Today it stands as a lonely sentinel on the corner of a vast empty lot, slated to become part of Brooklyn’s first Whole Foods shopping complex. I found graffiti covering its base, the elegant entrance boarded up and incongruously decorated, and its staircase crumbling. Whole Foods claims its new store will jog around the old landmark, and the company will eventually repair its roof and exterior. Meanwhile, its erosion continues.